There will be distractions

We finally made it to the two week mark before departure. With less than twenty days until we fly out to Burkina Faso, one of the last items left to do was acquire a yellow fever shot. This shot is a requirement by the World Health Organization for anyone entering Burkina Faso. After some light research and coordinating with the leader of the mission, we found a spot where we could get the shot in Queens. The great news is that this vaccination is good for ten years, which guarantees many years of missionary work around the world.

On the Way

The car ride to the doctor's office was a great transition from our weekend adventures of prayer meetings, late night planning sessions and chats about ministry, missions and the city of New York. In the middle of our bible trivia, our driver and good friend, calmly pulled over the car and announced that we had a flat tire.

We had a flat tire. And with less than 20 minutes left to make our appointment. Time was of the essence. The shot had to be administered within ten days of arrival in the country to be effective. With a busy work, life and planning schedule, we had to make this appointment.

No spare, no money, no tire. The situation looked dire but there is always a way. Our local church has a familiar saying that continues to ring true: "God's will, God's bill" We had to trust that somehow the tire would be fixed in time to make the appointment.

in a last minute effort to make the appointment, a good friend sacrificed her own money to buy a new tire. It was a miracle and it was a beautiful moment in which we all humbly accepted the cost of carrying the call of Christ. The mood was solemn as we reverently considered the price we would all pay to share the light of Jesus with the world.

Dr. Park

Upon arrival to what appeared to be a house, I noticed the warm feeling of this personal practice. The doctor who owned the private practice is a missionary and wife. After brief conversation about the trip, region and my medical history we began to chat about the process, which is the prize for the missionary. The discipline, focus and life lessons learned from working in the missionary field are highly transferable to any area of life. I was thankful to chat with her about her journey and learn from her many years of experience.

Dr. Park works with her local church to do missions in Uganda. She has been several times and enjoys working with this population. Through our conversation I learned valuable wisdom, "There will always be a distraction. It is just a part of taking the message of Jesus into dark places." I thought of our recent distraction and how it had the potential to derail the mission. I thought about how fortunate we were to be on this journey with many others who had committed to taking the gospel to Burkina Faso.

It would be impossible without my friends- noble, yet regular individuals who are committed to Jesus. Through it all, we are learning first hand the words of Isaiah 54:17.